


dog-eared days

by alovelylilt



Category: High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, F/M, Fluff, Fluff towards the end!, Gen, Humor, Light Angst, Oneshot, it's a whole thing, mostly just humor tho, ricky and big red get arrested for stealing nini's dog, there do be some making out towards the end but it's not too much
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-26
Updated: 2020-03-26
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:15:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23333725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alovelylilt/pseuds/alovelylilt
Summary: The policewoman approaches them, startling Ricky out of his memories. “I’m Officer Smith. And what are your names?”“Don’t tell her, Ricky,” Big Red blurts.“Ah, so it's Ricky.” Officer Smith smirks and writes it down on her notepad.“Nice going, Big Red,” Ricky mutters.“Ricky and Big Red— really? Big Red? That’s your name?” Officer Smith’s eyebrows furrow, her pen scratching to a halt in the middle of the page.———Or: Ricky steals a dog, gets arrested, and wins back the girl (with help from friends, of course).
Relationships: Big Red & Ricky Bowen (HSM: The Series), Ricky Bowen/Nini Salazar-Roberts
Comments: 12
Kudos: 118





	dog-eared days

**Author's Note:**

> lmfao i know i'm in the middle of my other other rini work, but i couldn't help myself with this idea. anyways, some important disclaimers:  
> -last night i was scrolling through a bunch of au ideas on some tumblr page (i would hyperlink it but i don't know how to do it in the notes section? can someone teach me lol), and at some point i was reminded of yet another fic idea i had for a 5sosff story years ago about dog-stealing  
> -then, i was reminded of ao3 user gayrefrain's hilarious shirbert fic, "You're such a big mess (And I love you)". (again, i would link it, but i don't know how)  
> -anyways that fic makes use of the incorrect quote meme where it's like:  
> Policeman: What are your names?  
> Person A: Don't tell them, Person B.  
> Policeman: Okay, Person B.  
> Person B: Way to go, Person A.  
> Policeman: So it's Person B and Person A.  
> Person B: Crap.  
> -and that premise is just so funny so i decided to go with it here!! a lot of this fic is inspired by that shirtbert fic; i would highly recommend it if you're interested!

Someone is calling her at 2:36am. Nini isn’t sure who it is, but she’s sure that they can wait until the morning. It’s not like she needs this day to get any worse. She’s already spent most of the night tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep without the warmth of a certain boy next to her. Nini will be the first to admit that she’s prone to dramatics, but she thinks it’s fair to say that she’s had one of the worst days of her life. That’s how she justifies tapping the “Decline” button on the phone call from an unknown number. She figures that if it’s really important, they’ll just call back.

Unfortunately, there is no rest for the weary; Nini’s phone buzzes again, and this time it's Gina. Nini groans and picks up the call. “Gina, this better be an emergency—”

“Ricky and Big Red are in jail, Neens.”

Nini bolts upright at that, shocked into wakefulness. “What? What do you mean, they’re in _jail_?”

“I mean that they’re sitting in a jail cell downtown. Apparently it has something to do with a dog? I think Big Red tried to use his one call to get to you, but maybe he dialed the wrong number? I wouldn’t put it past those two. I’m surprised Ricky got my number right for his call.”

Nini smacks her forehead in realization. “No, I got a call from an unknown number, like, a minute ago. It must’ve been him.”

There’s shuffling and rattling on Gina’s end of the call. “Anyways, my car’s still at the shop, so EJ’s going to pick me up and take me to the police station. You go ahead first, though. I’ll see you there.”

“Yeah. See you.” Nini blows out a big breath, rubbing her forehead in frustration. Yep, it’s official. This is the worst day of her life. 

* * *

***ONE HOUR EARLIER***

“Ricky— Ricky, c’mon, _get back here_ , what are you doing!” Big Red whisper-yells, stretching his fingers out to try and catch the back end of Ricky’s hoodie. It’s futile; Ricky has already managed to vault himself on top of the fence surrounding Nini’s condo complex. Under normal circumstances, Big Red would be impressed by the feat, especially considering how drunk Ricky is. Tonight, however, Big Red is feeling regret for ever agreeing to take Ricky out drinking after the disastrous conversation he’d had with Nini earlier that day. 

“Red, I’m gonna— I’m gonna tell her. I’m gonna tell her I made a mistake and I love her and I’m sorry and I’m stupid— oof!” Ricky tumbles over the other side of the fence, landing in a heap on the lawn. “Ouchie,” he mumbles, dazed.

“I’ll tell her you’re stupid, too,” Big Red mutters, grunting as he, too, climbs over the fence. “I hate you, I really do.”

“Hate me— you think she _hates_ me? Reeeeeeeeeed!” Ricky wails, the waterworks starting up again. 

Big Red has to resist the urge to punch him in the face. “No, I said _I_ hate you, you dumbass!”

Ricky wails harder at that. “Y-You hate me, too?”

Big Red winces, slapping a hand over Ricky’s mouth. “Ricky, shut up before you wake up the whole goddamn neighborhood! I don’t hate you, okay? And I’m sure Nini doesn’t hate you, either. Now, can we please go home? You can come back tomorrow morning, after you’ve sobered up and slept, and talk to her.”

“No!” Ricky shakes his head vehemently. He swats Big Red’s hands away from his mouth. “I need to talk to her now, Red, _right now_!” He scrambles to his feet and ties his shoelaces tight. “I’m gonna run over there right now and talk to her. I’m gonna run faster than anyone you’ve ever seen, Red!” He points to his shoelaces, grinning goofily. 

“Right, like tying your shoelaces is going to help.” Big Red rolls his eyes, not taking Ricky seriously. “Now, c’mon Ricky, let’s go before we get in trouble. You can run here from my apartment for all I care, as long as you do it tomorrow.” He turns on his heel, ready to hurl himself back over the fence. Unfortunately, he hears the telltale sound of Vans slapping on concrete, and he turns around to see Ricky zooming towards Nini’s condo. 

“I should’ve never shared my Goldfish with him in third grade,” Big Red grumbles, running after Ricky. Big Red’s normally a patient guy, but his best friend is really testing his limits tonight. 

Suddenly, loud barking fills the silence of the night. Big Red turns his eyes to the high heavens, asking for mercy as he runs faster. When he gets to Nini’s little portion of lawn, he sees Ricky rolling around on the ground with Nini’s current foster dog. Daisy is a particularly loud dog, and she’s kind of terrifying. For reasons unknown, she’s taken a particular dislike to Ricky, who is now trying to hug her around the middle and cry into her fur. 

“Ricky, get her to quiet down!” Big Red exclaims. He’s allergic to dogs and has to take Claritin every time he goes to Nini’s place, but it’s not like he’d expected to be here tonight. He starts sneezing uncontrollably. 

“It’s no use, Red,” Ricky moans, his voice muffled by Daisy’s fur and overpowered by her barking. “Even Daisy hates me. Nini’s gonna hate me forever, and then I’m going to die lonely and miserable!”

Big Red is bent over, wheezing as he tries to control his sneezing. “Ricky— for the love of god— shut up and let’s get out of here! This is trespassing!” He sneezes again for good measure. 

In between Ricky’s wailing, Daisy’s barking, and Big Red’s sneezing, none of them notice the patrolling police officer until she's already upon them. By the time she shines a flashlight on them, it’s far too late to run away, but Ricky tries anyway. Daisy chases after him, barking aggressively. 

“What— dude! Stop!” Big Red yells. He turns to the police officer. “Ma’am, I am so sorry, I promise we’re not trying to cause trouble,” he says, but she’s already taken off after Ricky. 

She doesn’t have to go far, because Ricky tripped over his own feet after about ten seconds of running and is now laying on his back, his limbs star-fished out as he gazes at the night sky. “I just love Nini so much,” he mumbles to himself. 

The policewoman sighs. “Young man, I’m going to have to take you into custody for running away from a law enforcement officer.” 

Big Red approaches them, trying to appease her. “Whoa whoa whoa, officer, there’s no need for that! Can’t you just let him off with a warning? The poor boy’s heartbroken, and he’s really stupid, but he’s not guilty of anything else, I swear.”

She raises an eyebrow, pointing to Daisy. “Is this his dog?”

“Uh, no?”

“Well, I’m going to have to take him in for dog theft, too.” 

“Dog theft? That’s his girlfriend’s foster dog! I mean, I guess she’s his ex-girlfriend now? I’m not really sure…” Big Red trails off and winces. “I’m not helping his case, am I?”

She looks incredibly unimpressed. “Nope, not at all. I’m afraid he’s going to have to come with me.”

Big Red straightens and puffs his chest out. “W-Well, you’ll have to go through me first!” Never let it be said that Big Red isn’t a valiant and loyal best friend. 

The policewoman raises an eyebrow. “Okay, sure.” 

And that’s how they both end up in jail. 

Big Red lolls his head to the side, regarding his best friend with resignation. “Y’know, I expect some sort of medal after this. At the very least, you should give me free drinks for the rest of my life at Sally’s.” 

Ricky, by now completely sober, turns his head to meet Big Red’s gaze sheepishly. “You bet, buddy.” 

Sally’s is the coffee-shop-slash-bookstore Ricky works at, and it’s also where he had met Nini a year ago. At the time, they had both been juniors in college. As a pre-law student, Nini spent copious hours pouring over her assignments at Sally’s, and Ricky had gotten pretty used to seeing the girl with the long brown hair sitting in the corner booth, various colored highlighters tucked behind her ears and held between her teeth as she studied. Every time she came in, Ricky elbowed Seb out of the way so that he could get to the register and take her order. And every time, Ricky would purposefully spell Nini’s name wrong in new and increasingly creative ways. Eventually, Nini had written her name and number down on a napkin and slipped it to him at the end of a shift, and the rest was history. 

The policewoman approaches them, startling Ricky out of his memories. “I’m Officer Smith. And what are your names?”

“Don’t tell her, Ricky,” Big Red blurts. 

“Ah, so it's Ricky.” Officer Smith smirks and writes it down on her notepad.

“Nice going, Big Red,” Ricky mutters.

“Ricky and Big Red— really? Big Red? That’s your name?” Officer Smith’s eyebrows furrow, her pen scratching to a halt in the middle of the page. 

Big Red sighs. “Yeah, it’s a family thing; it’s passed down from my— never mind. Do we get a phone call, or something?”

Officer Smith nods, handing him a phone. “One each. You wanna go first?”

“Sure. Ricky, what’s Nini’s number?”

Ricky rattles it off quickly, then stops as he realizes what Big Red’s about to do. “Wait, no, don’t call her, Red!”

Big Red rolls his eyes. “Ricky, man, I love you, but I think you’re done calling the shots for the night. Nini’s the only one who can get us out of this mess, anyway. She can come and tell them we’re her friends, and it’s her dog, and everything’s okay. If she doesn’t press charges, we can just leave, right? Nothing on our record or anything?” Big Red turns hopeful eyes on Officer Smith, who nods.

“I wouldn’t blame her if she _does_ press charges,” Ricky mumbles.

“I gotta say, I wouldn’t blame her either if she decides to let you rot in this jail cell,” Big Red agrees cheerfully. “Maybe it’ll force some sense into you.” He’s quiet as he waits for Nini to pick up. “Damn, Ricky, I think you jinxed us. She didn’t pick up. Should I leave a voicemail or something?”

It’s Ricky’s turn to roll his eyes. “Don’t leave a _voicemail_ , Red, are you kidding? I’m going to call Gina to bail us out of here. Maybe she can vouch for us or something, since her mom works for the government.”

“What? How on earth is that supposed to work?” Big Red splutters, but Ricky has already dialed Gina’s number and is explaining their situation to her. Immediately, Gina starts yelling at them, and Ricky winces as he holds the phone away from his ear. 

“Um, so… are you gonna come get us or not?” Ricky finally murmurs, looking properly abashed.

“YES, I’M COMING TO GET YOU, YOU ABSOLUTE BUFFOON!” 

Big Red taps Ricky on the shoulder, and mouths, _Tell her to bring Claritin_. Ricky repeats the request over the phone quickly, not wanting to raise Gina’s ire any further.

“Claritin? Why on earth do you need— you know what, I don’t even want to know. I’m sure I’ll find out when I get down there,” Gina mutters. “I’ll see you soon, Ricky. _Please_ try not to get into any more trouble with the law before then.”

“Ha ha, no promises!” Ricky jokes, and Big Red slaps his shoulder. _Not the right time,_ his best friend mouths. Luckily for them, Gina has already hung up.

At home, Gina sighs. Quickly, she calls EJ to pick her up, since he lives the closest to her. She explains the situation over the phone, and EJ agrees to meet her in five minutes.

“Really? They got _arrested_?” he repeats incredulously.

“Oh, shut up, as if you aren’t stupid enough to do something similar,” Gina snaps.

“I mean, fair enough, but I’m not stupid enough to get _caught_ ,” he argues.

“Whatever. Just get here as fast as you can, okay? I’m going to call Nini. Oh, and bring Claritin, and don’t tell anyone else!”

* * *

Back at the station, Big Red and Ricky are arguing over whose fault it is that they got caught. 

“Maybe if you weren’t sneezing so loudly, we would’ve heard the officer coming!” Ricky points out.

“Maybe if Daisy didn’t hate you, she wouldn’t have alerted the officer with her barking, anyway!” Big Red counters.

Officer Smith smirks at them. “Boys, no offense, but I think I would’ve found you no matter what. You weren’t being very discreet, you know. What happened to you, anyways? Why’d you end up wrestling with a dog at 2 in the morning?”

“I broke up with my girlfriend today,” Ricky mumbles. “I mean, we didn’t actually say we were breaking up, but I asked her to take a break, which is basically the same thing, isn’t it? Anyways, her name is Nini, and she’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me. She wants to be a human rights lawyer, _and_ she fosters dogs on the side! I don’t know a better person, Officer.”

“Okay. So why’d you break up with her?”

Ricky sighs. “My parents just told me that they’re getting divorced this morning. And like, okay, I’m not stupid. 50% of all marriages end up in divorce, right? But they’d been going to couples therapy, and I thought things were getting better. But nope, not only are they getting divorced, it turns out that my mom is marrying another dude in like, three months!” He runs his hands through his hair. “I mean, _come on_! The paperwork for the divorce hasn’t even been finalized yet, and she’s asking me if I’ll need a plus one to the wedding?”

Officer Smith looks startled. She hadn’t expected the boy to pour his heart out to her, but here they are. “My parents got divorced when I was younger, too. I know it probably feels like the end of the world, kid, but I promise it’s not. And don’t go internalizing that stuff, either. Just look at me— I’m happily married, with two kids in school and a third on the way. Marriage is hard, and so is love, but people make it work all the time.”

“Wow.” Ricky blinks at her. “That was pretty good.”

“Thanks. The precinct captain likes to watch Dr. Oz during lunch,” Officer Smith says dryly.

Just then, someone screeches, “RICHARD BOWEN!” at the top of their lungs.

Ricky and Big Red shoot to their feet. “ _Carlos_?” Ricky exclaims, shocked. “What are you doing here?”

Seb skids in a second later, almost crashing into Carlos’s back. “Hey, guys!” He waves at them cheerfully.

Carlos huffs angrily, approaching them with a bottle of Claritin in his hands. “Officer, can you give this to idiot number one over there?”

Officer Smith raises an eyebrow. “And which one would that be?”

“That would be me.” Big Red raises his hand. She hands him the Claritin and he pops one gratefully. 

“EJ called me to tell me that Gina called him to take her to the police station, and she told him to bring Claritin, but he didn’t have any, so here I am,” Carlos explains, eyeing Big Red and Ricky disdainfully. “What exactly happened to you two?”

Ricky opens his mouth to explain, but he’s interrupted by the sound of Kourtney’s high heels clicking ominously toward them. “ _Richard Bowen_ ,” she hisses.

“I’m getting really tired of hearing that tonight,” Ricky grumbles.

“Oh, I’ll _give_ you something to get tired of hearing—” Kourtney starts, but Gina and EJ burst in at that moment.

Gina halts at the sight of the sizable crowd gathered in the police station. “EJ, I told you not to tell anyone else!” she exclaims.

“Yeah, but you also told me to bring Claritin, so I called Carlos!” he protests. 

“And I called everyone else,” Carlos admits. “What? I’m a sucker for drama, okay?”

“Great, now the whole gang’s here,” Ricky mutters. “We’re just missing—”

“Fancy seeing you all here,” Ashlyn says dryly upon her entrance. 

Carlos scoffs. “Yeah, it’s like a little reunion in here. Dumbasses only. Except for you, Seb.”

Seb beams. “Thanks, honey. So, what happened, Ricky? Red?”

EJ lets out a whistle after they finish telling their story. “Damn, Nini really hit the bottom of the barrel with you, Ricky.”

Ricky flinches. “Yeah,” he agrees quietly.

EJ’s face falls. “Hey, I was just kidding, dude. I’m sure she’ll take you back… after you stole her dog… and got arrested...”

“Shut _up_ ,” Ashlyn hisses, elbowing him in the side.

“Ricky?” Nini’s worried voice turns all of their heads towards the entrance, where she’s wringing her hands. She quickly makes her way towards them, eyes widening at the sight of her entire friend group. “Why are you all here? Never mind, where’s Ricky?”

They part to let her through and look at Ricky, whose head is hung in shame. “Hey, Nini,” he mumbles, refusing to meet her eyes.

“Sorry, Officer, I saw an unknown number so I didn’t pick up, and then I had to drive here myself, and I’m not a good driver under the best of circumstances, and these really aren’t good circumstances— anyways.” Nini cuts herself off from rambling any further. “Um, do I have to sign anything? I don’t want to press charges or anything, these are my friends and that’s my dog, so if you’re willing to let the whole thing go…”

“They’re free to go if you don’t want to press charges. Just sign here.” Officer Smith hands her a clipboard, which she fills out quickly.

Officer Smith unlocks the cell, and Big Red whoops, raising his fists in the air. “Freedom! I’m telling you, you don’t know how sweet fresh air tastes until you’ve been on the wrong side of the law,” he declares.

“You guys were only in there for, like, two hours,” Gina points out. 

“Sorry, can’t hear you over the sound of my street cred!”

EJ laughs, patting him on the back. “C’mon, buddy, we’ll take you home.”

“Nini, just leave him here,” Kourtney says, referring to Ricky.

“No, it’s okay, Kourt,” Nini replies softly, turning her gaze to Ricky, who seems to deflate right before her eyes. “Um, I can drive you,” she says. He nods. 

“Alright everybody, time to go,” Officer Smith reminds them. “You guys are just taking up space now.”

“Thanks, Officer!” Big Red waves cheerfully to her. 

Nini and Ricky look like they’re about to have a serious conversation in the car, and Seb is nothing if not perceptive. “Hey, Nini, Carlos and I can take Daisy for the night,” he offers. It’s well known that Nini’s latest foster dog hates Ricky, and Seb can’t imagine that they’d want to have their conversation over the sounds of Daisy’s barking.

“Thanks, Sebby.” Nini hugs him gratefully. “Ricky? Let’s go.”

In the car, they’re both silent for a couple minutes. Ricky’s eyes catch on the worn, dog-eared book sitting on the center console in Nini’s car. His heart breaks a little when he recognizes it as his. Ricky is a literature student and a hopeless romantic, and over the course of their one-year-relationship, he had written many love notes to Nini in the pages of the books his professors assigned to him. Morosely, he wonders if she’ll ever accept another love note from him again.

Nini takes a deep breath and breaks the silence bravely. “So, should I take you to Red’s?”

“Nini, I—”

“Please, Ricky. I get it. You want to take a break.” Nini’s voice is hollow. “That’s fine.” She starts the car, and Ricky panics, throwing his hands over hers on the steering wheel.

“Wait! Wait, wait, Nini, please. I lo—” Ricky’s voice catches on the l-word. She’d said it to him this morning, right after he’d gotten the phone call from his mom about the wedding. 

“What, Ricky?” Nini takes her hands off the steering wheel, removing his hands from hers in the process. She tries to control the shudder that runs through her at the simple touch. Ricky’s expression is so forlorn, he looks like a baby deer that’s been kicked down, and all she wants to do is wrap her arms around him and run her fingers through his hair as he buries his face into her neck. But that’s not her place anymore, she supposes. 

“I lo—” he tries again, but the words are stuck in his throat. 

Nini sighs. It’s not like she doesn’t know all about Ricky’s insecurities and fears about love. She’d waited months to tell him that she loves him because she knows her sweet boy inside and out, and she knew he would need to be eased into it. She thought he would be ready to hear it by now, but she must have been wrong, because his response had been to ask for a break. Shocked and hurt, she had responded with some semblance of agreement before he left to drink his sorrows away and she went to cuddle with Daisy as she cried.

“My parents called this morning,” he says finally.

“Oh?” she responds dully. She’s not really sure where this is going. 

“Yeah. They’re getting a divorce.”

“ _Oh_ ,” Nini repeats, but this time it’s tinged with worry. She reaches out and rubs his shoulder. Ricky wants to laugh and cry at the same time. He’d broken her heart not even 24 hours ago, and she still wants to comfort him. He really doesn’t deserve this girl.

“Yeah. Mom said she’s getting married to another dude, Todd or something, and she asked me if I needed a plus one.”

“And I told you I loved you right after,” Nini says quietly. She’s beginning to understand, now. “Oh, Ricky, I’m so s—”

“Don’t. Please don’t apologize, sweetheart. You have nothing to apologize for,” Ricky insists, turning in his seat to face her fully. It’s the first good look at her he’s gotten all night, and he really wants to punch himself for being the reason why she looks so ragged and miserable.

“Okay,” she agrees easily. She thinks she would agree to anything he said right now, as long as it got the desperately sad look out of his eyes.

“It sucked to hear that from my mom, yeah, but that’s no excuse for how I reacted when you told me that you love me,” he plows on. “And I completely understand if you want to dump me and never see me again, because I’m the worst boyfriend ever. I mean, I even stole your _dog_! Like, c’mon, what kind of asshole _does_ that?” He’s getting worked up now, angry tears slipping down his face. His whole life, he’d been somewhat of a crybaby— he cries when he’s sad, when he’s angry, when he’s happy, and sometimes for no reason at all, but he really wishes he could stop crying right now. This is not how he pictured this conversation going. 

Nini’s hand rises from his shoulder to his face, and she lets her hand hover there, uncertain. A few more tears slip down Ricky’s face, and she gives in to the helpless ache of her heart. Gently, she swipes her thumb under his eyes, brushing away the tears. For a moment, he just sits still, reveling in her delicate touch and the way it makes warmth bloom in his chest.

“Nini. You’re better than anything I’ve ever read in my books,” he confesses, voice hushed in the aftermath of his tears. “Sometimes I think I’ve dreamt you up.”

Nini blushes involuntarily at his words. Ricky has always been too sweet for his own good, and Nini doesn’t think her poor heart can’t handle any more of his syrupy words if he’s just going to break it again.

“I love you,” he says quietly, nonchalantly, as if Nini’s whole world hadn’t just stopped in its rotation, stunned into stillness by the force of his revelation.

“What?” Nini’s voice is so tiny, he barely hears her over the pounding of his heart in his ears.

“I love you,” he repeats, louder this time. “I love you, I love you, I love you, and if you’ll still have me, I’m happy to go across town telling everyone I know, and everyone I don’t. I’m sorry, sweetheart. I realized as soon as I left this morning that I love you. I was just… scared, and shocked from my mom’s announcement. I don’t blame you if you hate me and never wanna see me again—”

Nini cuts him off by pressing her lips to his, so sweet and sincere that he thinks he might die. It wouldn’t be a bad way to go. 

She pulls back but stays close, resting her forehead on his. “Ricky. Oh, Ricky, I could never hate you. I told you I love you, and I meant it, lover.”

“Really?” Ricky’s voice cracks on the word. “You don’t have to forgive me just because I cried, you know.”

She laughs, but it’s watery. She’s a crybaby, too; they’d always had that in common. “Really. I love you, I love you, I love you.” Suddenly, she scrambles across the center console, climbing into his lap. His hands fumble for a moment before settling on her waist.

“Well, hey there, sweetheart,” he murmurs.

She does what she’s been wanting to do all night and eases her fingers into his curls, watching as his face relaxes instantly. “We still have to talk,” she reminds him. “About us. About our relationship.”

“I know,” he sighs, closing his eyes as he luxuriates in the feeling of her hands in his hair. “I want to work on us, Neens. I never want to stop working on us.”

“Me too, lover. But right now, my mind’s on other things,” she admits.

“Oh, Daisy? I’m sure Seb and Carlos will take great care of her.”

“Um, no.” Nini resists the urge to laugh. “That’s not what I was thinking about.”

Ricky grimaces. “The trespassing thing? Yeah, I didn’t really mean to hop your fence like that… Honestly, I still have a key, I just wasn’t really thinking clearly—” Nini cuts him off again with a kiss. Her mouth opens against his easily, and he reciprocates eagerly. Now he’s _really_ not thinking clearly. “Um, maybe we should, ah, go home?” he pants.

“What, you don’t want to make out in my car? Ricky, you love making out in my car.” Nini nips at his neck playfully before soothing the spot with her tongue, and Ricky’s brain short-circuits. Yeah, why _is_ he stopping her? Nothing could possibly be more important than whatever magic she’s working on his neck right now. 

Nini brings her lips back to his, and he sucks her bottom lip into his mouth. There isn’t anywhere in the world she’d rather be right now, especially with the way Ricky kisses her, like it’s the only thing he was born to do.

“Oh, _shit_ ,” Ricky swears, biting down a groan when her mouth moves to his ear. All of a sudden, he remembers where they are. “Nini— Nini, we’re parked in the middle of the _police station_ lot,” he reminds her. 

“Oh. Yeah.” Nini pulls away from him, blushing. Contrary to his words, he chases after her, pressing one, two, three last, lingering kisses against her mouth.

Jubilant, Ricky smiles dumbly at her, his eyes crinkling with adoration. “Let’s go home, sweetheart.”

* * *

Three months later, Ricky attends his mom’s wedding with Nini at his side (and one more addition). 

The ceremony is okay (Ricky spends the whole time staring at Nini, who’s wearing the prettiest floral dress and a permanent blush from the lovely nothings he whispers into her ear). The dinner is meh, and the band is downright shitty. But he couldn’t care less, because the most beautiful person in the world is his date, and she’s coming home with him afterwards.

“Ricky?” His mom approaches him, smiling warily.

“Hey, Mom.” He gets out of his seat to hug her. Whatever happens, she’s still his mom, and he’s slowly starting to make his peace with her. He nods at the man standing next to her. “Todd. Congratulations, you two.”

Nini stands up as well, her hands fluttering anxiously over her dress as she greets them. He wants to tell her that she doesn’t need to be nervous, because anyone who doesn’t like her is someone he doesn’t want in his life, but it’s kind of endearing to watch her interact with his family and see how they fall in love with her just like he did. 

Ricky turns to his mom. “So, I heard you’ve been wanting a dog?” 

“Oh yes, but Todd is allergic—”

“Fear not!” Ricky’s smile is almost maniacal. He points to his feet, where his and Nini’s extra guest had been laying peacefully throughout the whole wedding. Daisy’s head perks up, sensing that she’s about to meet someone new. She bares her teeth at Todd and barks loudly at him. Over the last three months, Daisy had warmed up to Ricky, but he can still recognize the telltale signs of her disliking someone on the spot. “This is Daisy,” he says, grinning at the dog. “Nini fosters dogs, you see, and I figured, what better wedding gift could I give you than Daisy?”

“Oh Ricky, that’s so nice of you!” his mom gushes, squatting down to pet Daisy. The dog preens at her touch, and Ricky knows it’s a done deal.

Todd starts to protest, “But—” 

“Oh, shush. You can just take Claritin, honey,” Lynn says to him, absolutely taken with Daisy. 

Nini stifles a laugh at Todd’s look of horror. “Ricky, wanna dance?” she asks sweetly, taking his hand and pulling him away. 

As he sways with her to some poor rendition of a 90s pop song, Ricky can’t stop smiling. “You know, I think Daisy’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” he declares.

Nini raises an eyebrow. “Oh, _Daisy_ is the best thing that’s ever happened to you?”

He smirks. “Yeah. Without her, I might not have gotten arrested that night, and you might not have come to get me. And I wouldn’t have been able to get my mom and Todd _such_ a nice wedding gift!””

“Mmhm,” she responds, unimpressed.

“Daisy’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me, but _you_ —” Ricky cuts himself off to place a kiss on Nini’s nose, delighting in the way she closes her eyes and giggles. “ _You_ are everything, Nini.”

“Love you,” she murmurs, leaning her head on his shoulder.

“Love you more,” he replies, resting his head on hers.

“Love you the most,” she says into his shoulder.

“Can’t argue with that,” he agrees.

“ _Ricky_!” She picks her head up from his shoulder and shoves it, laughing. 

As the two of them continue dancing, sharing whispered jokes and warm glances, Ricky thinks of Officer Smith. _People make it work all the time_ , she had said. 

Ricky twirls Nini out of his arms, his eyes twinkling at the way she giggles as she spins. As she comes back into his arms, her dress floating around her and her smile wide, she stumbles a bit, her hair catching on one of his suit buttons. She laughs and spends a few moments untangling from him, and in that time, he thinks to himself: _hell yeah, we will_.

**Author's Note:**

> hope y'all liked that bit of tomfoolery from our favorite friend group!! if you liked this, pls consider checking out my other rini fic, doubles or nothing! it's a tennis au with childhood-rivals-to-lovers rini, if that sounds at all appealing to you.
> 
> anyways, please leave a comment or kudos if you are so inclined!! as a narcissist, i truly thrive off of validation lmaoooo 
> 
> (p.s. if u have something in mind that you'd like to see me write, feel free to tell me! can't guarantee that i'll get to it, but i love hearing from you guys)


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